It was now late in the evening. The house was almost completely silent apart from the low murmur of wind and the occasional rustle of guards who were on the lookout. Linda was long gone from my room now, after serving me dinner and preparing me for bed. In fact she was almost definitely asleep by now. The moment she left I threw on some new clothes and packed a bag.

In the closet I had found a pair of black sweatpants and a long sleeved black top which I threw on . I also then laced up a pair of trainers before placing my hand on the glass of the window. It was a cold night. That urged me to wear a coat. I searched through my clothes but had not found a proper coat. There were only jackets but none of them were warming enough to protect me from the bitter cold. Then I moved over to Antonio's section where I found a black coat. I put it on and instantly discovered that it was far too big for me, it hung to my knees and the sleeves fell way past my hands, but at least it would keep me warm. I was certainly not going to go through all of this trouble just so I could freeze to death. I had found a backpack in one of his draws too, so took that and filled it with a spare pair of trainers and socks, the juice carton Linda bought me for Lunch as well as anything edible that could be kept in the bag. That ended up being an apple, a packet of dried apricots and some chips. It wasn't a lot but I had eaten the rest of my dinner so I shouldn't need to eat again till morning time. Hopefully by then I would be flying high on an airplane.

I was aware that I had no money or card, but luckily I had signed up for an emergency cash service with my bank when Ryan's abuse first began. At first I considered the fact that one day, I might need to make a run for it after Ryan had stolen everything I had and though I quickly became glued to his side I was grateful I'd done it. Who knew it would be saving my life now? It would allow me to cash some money out at a local ATM and then I could buy a ticket for the first plane flight home. Who knows, I might even treat myself and get a first class ticket. I wasn't well off but after this I could adjust my budget for a day. That way I could get some of those pajamas first class borders received and maybe even a shower depending on the airline.

I glanced over to the clock that rested on the bed side table for the last time. 12:06 am. It was now or never.

Detaching the lamp cable from the wall, I took my place behind the door and pulled out my best acting skills as I tried to sound convincing.

"Help me! Arghhh! Help!"

To be honest, I was not sure of what I was trying to portray had happened to cause me meaning I had to yell out for help but it didn't matter because sure enough the door unlocked and a guard rushed inside.

I didn't wait for even a second as I crashed the hefty lamp down on his head, shattering its bulb as I did so. The man fell to the floor in an instant. Fuck! Had I killed him? That was not my aim...I bent down and checked his pulse. He was still alive. Thank God, I let out a relieved sigh and ripped off the chain of keys that dangled from the guards belt.

With shaking hands I took the keys over to the window, but before unlocking it I banged to alert the soldiers outside. They all turned to look at me and seemed to understand as I pleaded for help. I needed to get them out of my way and if I opened the window before doing that then they would all see through my plan because how would I have opened the window? Soon enough my exit was clear and so I pushed open the window and began to climb my way down. There was a water pipe I could cling onto and a little bit of extra help came from the structure of the building. It was made of old, vintage style bricks that stuck out so my feet could grip onto them like stairs.

Once I was close enough to this ground, I leapt. I tumbled onto the floor, grateful that it was grass and not hard gravel that would dig into my body. I laid low for a few seconds, regaining my composure then stood back up almost completely unaffected by the sudden drop.

I looked around, making sure that it was clear to run and then made my way to the grand gate. I slung the backpack I had taken over both of my back so that there was an equal balance of weight distributed across my shoulders and then raised my foot. The gaps in the fence were spread apart from each other so I had to force my entire body to stretch as I climbed up and up.

I thanked my mother for sending me to a camp for whole summers four years in a row. I knew now she only ever did it because she was bored of me and wanted to get rid of me for the entirety of the holiday but at least I had learnt to rock climb. Those summers were the best ones of my life. I made friends, had my first kiss and shared the funniest, strangest and scariest moments of my life. I loved and missed every moment and was heartbroken when my mom forced me to get a summer job the next year instead of returning to all of my friends and fun activities.

Once I was at the top of the gate, I accessed how high up I was. I could jump. It would be a rough landing but climbing down would be harder and take more time than going up because I couldn't see my own feet. So I leapt out before I had the chance to change my mind.

I was certainly right about the landing. I let out a groan as my whole body thumped down onto the floor. I let out a whimper as I laid on the hard, solid ground that my small body just threw itself onto. I went to sit up but let out a hiss and instantly fell back down, the cause of the sudden outburst - my ribs. They were killing me and I had clearly damaged them during my landing. I didn't have time for this, I thought to myself. Hastily, I pulled my body up and began to walk, ignoring the pain. Soon that walk turned into a jog, then a run and before I knew it, a full on sprint as I began my search for safety.

I had slowly bought my run back down to a slow trudge and soon decided it was time for a rest. It was now pitch black outside and I glanced down to my watch to see it was 2:43. Well I said it was my watch but in actual fact, I'd spotted it in the bathroom and assumed it was Antonio's that stole it. I'd been on the run for over two hours. Hopefully that amount of time was enough to have put some distance between me, that is if Antonio had even given the orders to find me yet. Although I had no clue why I meant so much to him, I did not doubt that he was probably trying to get me back already. The guards most likely alerted their boss the moment that they found the unconscious man in my room and realized that I had fled. They had cars, I was on foot and still yet to find a road so once they were onto me it was a race to get back to safety as quickly as possible.

Antonio's home was in the middle of nowhere, only surrounded by woods. However, all woods must come to an end at some point so now it was just a case of getting through the depths of trees before I ran out of food and then starved. I prayed that it wouldn't have to get to such that state before I managed to hitch hike a ride to the local air port (wherever the fuck that was).

Although, I knew I wouldn't have enough courage to catch the attention of a random driver this early in the morning, only psychopaths would be out and I didn't escape the hands of one mad man to be thrust straight into another's. I would most likely wait until I felt safe to hop into a less threatening stranger's car.

I stayed there, with my back propped up against the tree that I leant on for a while. I needed to regain my strength but couldn't let myself fall asleep because I knew that I would never be able to wake myself up. I couldn't afford to waste any more time. When it got to 3:30 am, I made a promise to myself to start my trek once more and wouldn't rest for another second until I reached a road.

My ribs still ached from where I had landed. I lifted my shirt up to reveal a huge purple bruise that covered a large part of my side. I needed to go see a doctor as soon as I was safe back at home. Shit my bucket list of things to do when I got back was growing and growing into a giant list of chores.

Suddenly I could see a faint light through the sea of trees that blocked my vision. Biting through the pain in my ribs I persisted until I crossed the threshold of where the woods ended and soon came out of the woods into a small field. Then I realized where the light was coming from. Only a few steps away was a road. Finally! It was lit by several street lamps that blurred in the darkness and suddenly I was filled with joy at my accomplishment, but my ordeal was not over yet. I was still not free of Antonio and pushed myself through the exhaustion I felt to the road side before slumping down on the curb.

I smiled to myself, the fact that I was one step closer to being home again at long last had sunk in. And that was the only thought that crossed my mind before I took a well earned nap, right there at the side of the road.